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Rebuilding and Restoration

Rebuilding and restoration are at the heart of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah — a restoration of the spirits of those who experienced exile and loss and a rebuilding of a land devastated by utter destruction.

The exile to Babylon is coming to a close for the people of Judah. Their eyes are now set on returning to the land of their ancestors, and the authorities are giving them a green light to go home. Back home, Ezra begins to institute reforms. One thing he does is to make sure the people hear the word of God (see Nehemiah 8). Many leaders read from the “book of the law of Moses” (8:1) and are intent to make this reading and its interpretation as clear as possible (8:8). They obviously believe that the restoration of their spiritual lives and their future livelihood depend on a clear understanding of what God’s word means.

This mural, one of several murals painted on the exterior walls of Camp Victor, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, depicts the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and its impact on animal and human life. Its artist is Opie Twice, of Ocean Springs. Permission to publish given by Camp Victor, Ocean Spring, Mississippi. Click to enlarge

Nehemiah, on the other hand, has the vocation of a builder. Those who remained in Judah, the “remnant,” travel to see Nehemiah and tell him the heart-wrenching stories of Jerusalem’s destruction.

Their report is quick and to the point: “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).

Those reporting to Nehemiah are talking to one who is a servant of the Persian royal court. He is a man who has been given a great deal of responsibility. He evidently has the confidence of his king and is close to him. According to one commentator, Nehemiah’s work as a cupbearer (2:1) means that he is holding one of the highest positions in the Persian court. But his position is precarious as well. He must taste test the wine meant for the king, to ensure that it is safe and not poisoned.

The report from the remnant is too much for Nehemiah to bear. He sits and begins a period of mourning, fasting, and prayer (Nehemiah 1:4). And he knows something needs to be done. So, with some trepidation, he approaches King Artaxerxes. The king quickly senses that Nehemiah is troubled.

The two talk over the situation, and with the king’s approval, Nehemiah is soon on his way to Jerusalem to oversee the reconstruction of his beloved city’s walls. In spite of opposition, he becomes known as the one who repairs the battered walls with great speed (52 days flat!), a feat that many, including Israel’s enemies, perceive as evidence of God’s extraordinary help (Nehemiah 6:15-16).

Rebuilding on the Gulf
I’m writing this Comment in early September, having just spent a week on the Gulf Coast in August. It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Alabama. Ezra and Nehemiah’s stories of restoration and rebuilding came to my mind as I worked with a band of seven other volunteers from my suburban Chicago congregation during the third week of August. We were working through the Ocean Springs, Mississippi, site of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) which is providing aid and assistance to Jackson County homeowners and residents who had been uprooted by the hurricane. The site today is housed in a former garment factory and includes a distribution center stocking donated food and personal items, dorm rooms for volunteers, a dining hall, and warehouse.

A Few Thoughts
Facing the realities along the Gulf Coast produces many different kinds of thoughts and emotions. In a month, we will be celebrating the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. One thing the Incarnation underscores is God’s deep desire to dwell among us in order to ensure our salvation. People saw God’s hand of power as the exiles returned and rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. And today, many are seeing God’s hand of power restoring the lives of people who have been uprooted by the storms.

As one who spent only a week along the Gulf, I realize the need to speak cautiously as I share with you some thoughts from my time there. Here are a few of them:

Those who felt the storm’s fury
Up until now, the Gulf Coast disaster has remained somewhat abstract for people far from the scene. What many of us knew was based on television reports and newspaper accounts. But a visit to the Gulf Coast changed that which was abstract to that which is concrete and particular. We were able to meet some of the residents who, in varying degrees, lost much but are slowly moving toward some sense of stability and restoration.

We became acquainted with a family whose bathroom floor needed total replacement. When we arrived the bathroom area was open to the outside, and as one member of the household said, also potentially open to area animals — dogs, raccoons, and rodents.

We became acquainted with a husband and wife — two senior citizens (the husband was disabled) — who were living in a FEMA trailer parked on their home’s premises. Katrina brought seven feet of water into their home. The wife shared her story of the harrowing escape her son and husband had to make as the waters got deeper. She also told us as she was driving back to her home following the storm, she could see items from her home floating away.

Another homeowner had seen many volunteers come to her place over the months, and she wanted to make sure she would remember each and every one who had come to her home to help. She wrote down the names of each volunteer and where they came from.

Work accomplished by volunteers seems incrementally small in size when compared to what still needs to be done. Volunteer groups come and go on a constant basis; some, like the team from our congregation, can only stay for a week. When the end of your volunteer effort draws near, you find yourself in a quandary, wanting to stay because there’s so much to do, but realizing it’s time to move on to your other responsibilities.

Nevertheless, in the time we were there, the repair team of which I was a part visited three homes. Three of us finished a sub-level floor in a bathroom. Two of us completed drywall finishing to the interior windows of a home, removed and replaced some damaged wall boards in a garage, and figured out why a roof was continuing to leak even after some earlier repairs had been made. On our final half day, three of us installed a microwave oven, removed a kitchen counter, and tried — unsuccessfully — to determine why one wall socket had no power while the others did.

Disaster Relief Staffs
Numerous people have responded to God’s call to staff disaster relief sites. LDR alone oversees 12 sites throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and are staffed with caseworkers, administrators, building experts, warehouse clerks, and others.

Our work team became acquainted with several of the staff at the Ocean Springs site. We learned that one individual came from a Roman Catholic order and had joined the LDR team as a caseworker. Another individual had left a job as a chemist to help at the site. Yet another had been working with an agency serving the poorest counties in Kentucky before joining LDR. These are but a few of the variety of people God has been calling and sending.

The site had originally been administered from the facilities of Christus Victor Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Ocean Springs. Even though the parish had itself sustained some damage to a portion of its roof from Katrina, the congregation — with three community-sized rooms and many smaller rooms set aside for classes and offices — was able to provide much-needed space for the relief effort from September 2005 through June of this year. (The Red Cross also shared space in the church at the beginning of relief efforts.) The entire operation moved to its present location last June. The congregation continues its oversight of the distribution center while LDR provides assistance to homeowners and residents.

The work of social service agencies is not an easy task in the best of conditions and settings. The unusual power of Hurricane Katrina’s impact has only added to the potential stress and strain among staff providing assistance and residents needing assistance.

Donors and Volunteers
The outpouring from donors and volunteers has been incredible. Across the ELCA, our members have raised (as of early September 2006) more than $25 million to assist in a multi-year effort for Gulf Coast reconstruction. (Staff in Ocean Springs said that they will have work to do for at least the next eight years.)

Here’s some other statistics provided by the Lutheran Disaster Response office, ELCA, Chicago, IL: As of the first year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 28, 2006), LDR has counted more than 18,000 “volunteer experiences” through sites in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (because some volunteers are returning to the region for repeat visits, LDR is counting “experiences” rather than numbers in order not to count repeat volunteers each time). Six thousand households received relief and assistance through a case management process. Volunteers completed major rebuilding projects on 9,000 homes, and minor rebuilding projects on 3,000 homes. The dollar value of such work was estimated at $10 million, using a formula provided by the U.S. Government.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, of Washington, D.C., it is estimated that approximately 575,000 volunteers have traveled to work in the Gulf Coast region (www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/katrina_volunteers_respond.pdf)

Volunteers often bring cash donations and gift cards with them when they first arrive. The gift cards are usually redeemable at large hardware and department stores where building supplies and personal items can be purchased.

Several of our work team were assisting in the Ocean Springs distribution center when we heard that a semi-truck load of donated items provided by two Illinois congregations was soon to arrive. Prior to this news, such things as sheets, towels, and other personal items were running low. Approximately forty or more household units were showing up for assistance from the distribution center each day during the week we were there. The news of the Illinois congregations’ gift became a moment of emotion and joy, knowing that our God does indeed provide when the need arises.

What’s needed for the future?
Spokespersons from relief agencies all seem to be saying the same thing: volunteers are especially needed who have building skills. I was told that it would be good to have at least one skilled person who could oversee small groups of other volunteers doing various kinds of repair work.

It may also be good to explore, prior to coming, if a building materials store offers in your area workshop opportunities which can upgrade your volunteers’ use of tools and building skills before coming to the Gulf.

Government, Business, and Nonprofits
From the vantage point of those who live and work in the Gulf, progress is slow. You could almost feel some of this pain in the sad eyes of the homeowners we met. “Thank God for the FEMA trailers,” they say. “But it’s been a year. How long before our homes are ready to live in?”

The remnant who lived among the ruins of Jerusalem must have felt the same way, as did those in exile wishing to return. When will the breached walls be repaired, the rubble swept up, and the fire-scorched buildings be razed so new ones can be constructed? When will the governmental authorities set us free? When will we be able to worship our God again in Zion?

It’s easy to realize our many shortcomings as we respond to unparalleled major disasters, whether such shortcomings arise from the work of government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, private businesses, or the adequacy of volunteer efforts from the nonprofit and faith communities. Perhaps insights into why problems occurred will help us respond more adequately to future disasters.

A related major issue continues to loom large in the Gulf Coast region: the need for affordable housing. Will those who wish to return but have modest salaries be able to afford the higher rents and land prices? Who will assure that affordable housing concerns are addressed well, especially for those with modest means or little means at all? LDR does include these concerns among the many things they believe God has called them to address.

Some small, but beautiful modular cottages were on show in Ocean Springs the week we were there. Private enterprises had constructed what some called “Katrina cottages.” I was amazed at what one could construct utilizing only 400-500 square feet of space at a price tag of $40,000-$50,000. It was thought that maybe this was one way some homeowners might be able to restart their lives, those who still owned land but whose homes had been ruined and who also had limited resources.

One thing seems clear: the rebuilding of this land involves a host of hands and arms. Government at all levels, the nonprofit organizations and charities and its myriad volunteer force, both faith-based and secular, and the business community need to stay the course. Both the public and private sectors have vital roles to play.

We are not alone
Ancient Israel understood well the relationship between God and the act of building.

“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1a).

And God has built a home through the Word made flesh, the One who came to dwell among us (from the Greek: skenoo, i.e., to abide [or live] in a tabernacle [or tent], see John 1:14). The writer to the Ephesians also utilizes the image of a building structure when he casts Jesus as the chief part of the structure, the cornerstone itself (Ephesians 2:20). On this structure rests the fundamental “foundation” of the apostles and prophets. And on this you and I, as well as the whole Church of God, find our life together: “In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:21).

The challenges along the Gulf Coast — or wherever we are called to serve our neighbors in need — seem daunting and exhausting. But we in the Church cling to the Incarnate One, and know in our hearts that we are not alone.

William A. Decker is editor of Lutheran Partners magazine, Chicago, Illinois.